1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of protective apparel for motorcycle riders and the like.
2. Prior Art
It is well known that the survivability of a motorcycle accident, particularly without serious injury, depends strongly on the type and amount of protective clothing worn by the rider. By way of example, a person in ordinary street clothes may well sustain fatal injuries in an accident in which a person simply wearing a helmet would not. Other types of protective clothing which is used to any substantial extent includes boots, heavy clothes such as a leather jacket and perhaps leather pants, and heavy gloves. This type of protective gear has its limitations however, as it tends to be hot, movement restricting and confining, and inconvenient because of the time and effort required to "suit up" from ordinary street clothes. Also while such clothing may be quite protective against abrasion, the impact protection provided thereby is relatively limited as substantial padding is impractical.
It has been proposed that inflatable garments be used by motorcycle riders, which garments will automatically inflate upon separation of the rider from the motorcycle to provide enhanced protection of the rider against impact with other objects. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,667 discloses an inflatable garment for crash protection to be worn by motorcycle riders and to detachably connect with a source of pressurized gas operative to inflate the suit in response to a predetermined deceleration of the motorcycle or manual operation of a trigger adjacent to motorcycle handgrip when a crash or spill appears to be inevitable. In that system, the source of pressurized gas is mounted on the vehicle, with the suit pulling loose from the gas source by a detachable connection therewith.
Another inflatable suit for cyclists is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,852. This suit utilizes a supply of pressurized gas connected to the suit and triggered by a forced abrupt separation of the motorcyclist's body from the motorcycle to inflate the suit. The suit itself is a full body suit, including a hood, and accordingly requires a zipper not only in the front but along the full length of each leg and along each arm. As such, while the suit would be expected to be useful in protecting the rider, it would also be confining, not aesthetically pleasing, hot and time consuming to get into and out of, and would be expected to badly wrinkle any ordinary clothes worn thereunder. The suit disclosed in the first of the two patents mentioned is similar, in that it is a full body suit covering the torso, arms and legs, though it does not have a hood for the head of the wearer. Finally, clothing for providing protection against forceful impact primarily intended for hand gliding, mountain and rock climbing, parachuting, white water canoeing, race car driving and piloting of experimental aircraft is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,065. Again the suit is a full body suit, except for hood, and is manually inflatable utilizing a pressurized gas container attached thereto. On inflation the suit is intended to balloon quite substantially, extending upward both in the front and back to approximately nose level.
The devices of the prior art undoubtably could be fabricated to be effective, protective devices if regularly used. However, because of their general spacesuit like appearance, their confining characteristics and inconvenient and time-consuming character in putting them on and taking them off, such protective garments are not currently being used. Accordingly, it is one of the primary objectives of the present invention to provide a protective garment which can be made in a stylish form, is as easy to put on and take off as an ordinary jacket and yet which will provide the protection of the prior art garments.